Evergreen
by Maeve Morgan
Summary: Oneshot. Two distinct yet interrelated moments in the life of Remus Lupin with two different girls. About memories, flowers, and love.


**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. The use of its characters, locations, and universe in general is merely a lend. I only own the plot—although it's a bit arguable if there actually is a plot here.

_Dedicated to my friend Ana (once more), because I keep thinking of things to write whenever we're talking, even though she doesn't really read Harry Potter. Happy Birthday, darling! ;)

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**Evergreen**

He went after her. He had seen her gasp, turn and leave the entrance hall in a quick movement. Everyone had seen her do so. But he had also seen the silent tears streaming down her face as she went. And so he went after her.

If asked why he had done so, he wouldn't be able to come up with a clear, cognisant explanation. He had just seen her go and she looked so hurt, miserable, and humiliated that he just felt he should go after her. Because he knew what it was like to be shunned and turned down for being different. He was cursed. She was considered unworthy, like a disease, inferior.

He didn't know why some people would put so much stress on what was in their blood. They would only see the lycanthrope in him, and the family blood she carried in her veins. Shallow, bigoted, and old-fashioned people for whom status was more important than the person behind the family name.

As he traced her steps, he thought she was an incredible girl. They were only twelve years old, it was their second year in Hogwarts, but she had always been in the top of all their classes. Not only that but she made a conscious effort to be nice and thoughtful to everyone she ever met. Such kindness was in her nature, but people would talk behind her back, saying she was being false, untrue, trying to "charm" everyone into liking her. And others would say to her face how much they thought of her.

It had happened just now. In a valiant effort to stop a fight between fellow students, she had stepped forward and told them to stop before anyone got hurt. But of course both boys ignored her, hushed whispers from various students reaching their ears with the words, "the Gryffindor Princess shows off again", and other such phrases.

"You don't tell me what to do," Severus Snape had sneered, once he had fallen on the floor with a leg-locker curse Sirius Black had aimed at him. "You're just a filthy mudblood."

Simultaneously, the gathering crowd watching the duel gasped as one. Though used to an indifferent and sometimes scornful treatment, no one had never actually told her such words. Snape wasn't her friend, he was merely a colleague, and yet he could see how much the boy's words had hurt her.

She had simply left. Left the fighting duo, the watching crowd, the entrance hall, and her friends – her true friends that worried about her. She was already humiliated enough. No one should see her cry now. She had put on an angry, exasperated expression upon her soft features. But as she turned and walked away, he caught the glittering tears trailing down her face. And he went out into the brisk, chilly Autumn air, leaving it all behind as well.

He finally reached her. She was sitting under a tree, facing the lake. He paused for a moment as he thought over. Why he had followed her. Why she had come here. What he should tell her. What would he do?

As he stepped on one of the thick roots and placed a hand on the tree for support, she looked up at him, her eyes bright, surprised, and sad, and ashamed. "Oh. What are you doing here?" She questioned, sniffing softly.

"I came after you." He shrugged, unsure of what else to say. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied a bit exasperatedly, dragging her eyes away from his face and sniffing louder still. "I just… I don't know."

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" He questioned, biting his lip nervously, even though she wasn't looking at him and couldn't see it. Still staring at the lake, she shook her head, and so he quietly sat down next to her.

They remained in silent for some minutes more, every now and then stealing glances at one another, but mostly staring resolutely forward, facing the placid waters of the lake.

"I don't think you are," he whispered moments later. She looked up startled at him, even more so than when she had first seen him there. "What he said, you know." He added with a small smile. "You are… a _great_ girl."

"Thank you," she whispered back, still gazing at him intently though her eyes gradually lost the befuddled quality and became softer. "I… Thank you." She smiled warmly at him.

He continued to smile at her as he took her hand in his. "I mean it. You are a great girl, and a great witch. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."

She slowly nodded her head, and lightly squeezed his hand. "You too." She said. "You are simply… remarkable." She grinned at him, her eyes sparkling in the light of the dying sun. "Thank you."

He slightly shook his head. "You don't have to thank me."

"I still do, anyway."

He frowned bemusedly at her as she started to grin at him. She looked away, her gaze directed at the lake once more. A few moments later, she took her hand from his and kneeled in front of him. He watched as now she bit her bottom lip, looking a bit bashful. The next moment, she had leaned forward and pressed her lips softly to his.

He felt his eyes widen momentarily with the sudden movement, but he didn't pull back. Every heartbeat felt like an endless age. It was so quick and short, and yet as he stared into her green eyes, he felt like this, whatever he was feeling, would be something everlasting.

She pulled back after a few mere moments. Offering him a smile, she got up to her feet and simply walked away. He watched her go, just as he had done before. But this time he didn't follow. He remained sitting where he was. And when she was gone, he looked down and found a small, delicate blue flower in the place he was sure she had been sitting before.

Dazed, he stared at the blue flower until he was sure the image would be forever imbibed in his mind. Then smiling, he got up and made his way back to the castle as well.

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"Remus?"

"Hmm?" Snapping out of his reverie, Remus realised he was staring at Tonks. More specifically, he was staring straight into her eyes and had been for the past few minutes.

"Is everything all right?" She questioned, frowning slightly at him from across the table.

"Yes, everything is fine." He smiled softly at her, and her worried expression cleared considerably. "I was just thinking of something, and was suddenly assaulted by some very old memories."

"Hum. Anything interesting enough to share?" She grinned unabashedly at him now.

"Oh, I'm not very sure," he said, leaning his face on his hand and placing his elbow on the wooden surface of the table. "Silly things, really. But speaking of interesting, I liked the colour of your eyes today."

"You did?" She gave him a surprised and very pleased smile.

"Well, I actually always like whatever hair or eye colour you choose for the day," he said with a playful gleam in his eyes. "But that is a very nice shade of blue. It reminds me of a very pretty flower. Which is fitting, as the myosotis is popularly known as forget-me-not."

"Funny you should mention it," she said, and he looked inquisitively at her. "I just read the other day the forget-me-not is the flower of lost lovers."

"Is it really?" He said, his eyebrows rising slightly in his forehead.

"Yes," she nodded her head, and looked up at him through her fringe of dark hair. "I wonder if it means you were remembering some old love."

"Well," he smiled slowly at her. "Even if I were," and his smile for just one moment turned wistful and a bit sad, "You know what they say: it does not do to dwell on the past." He looked back into her bright, forget-me-not blue eyes. "We must always face the future and live the present."

She stared back into his brown eyes for a moment. Then she got up, walked around the table and kneeled in front of his chair. Biting her bottom lip, a playful gleam in her eyes, she reached up, bringing his face down as she softly pressed her lips up to his.

And with every heartbeat, he felt this was something to be everlasting. Once and again.

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_Thank you for reading this short piece. I would love to know your opinion. Oh, and for those who may be a bit lost, Lily was the girl from the memory. I realise I never mentioned it._


End file.
